Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
News on disease control, CCP, Taiwan, Solomon Islands, Australia, U.S.
News (1) to (11) / Reporters : Zhang Xiulan and Wang Kara, Beijing News Daily / https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2022/04-26/9739333.shtml
Image courtesy : Mirai Port (Web Screenshot)
News (1)
CCP China releases three batches of lists of overseas new drugs
The State Food and Drug Administration and the National Health Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have released three batches of lists of overseas new drugs urgently needed for clinical use, and the treatment fields of metabolism and tumor diseases are relatively concentrated.
In order to speed up the entry of overseas new drugs urgently needed for clinical use into my country, since 2018, the State Food and Drug Administration and the National Health Commission have successively announced three batches of lists of overseas new drugs urgently needed in clinical practice, involving 73 drugs. A reporter from the Beijing News sorted out the data based on the DXY Insight database and public information and found that in the three batches of lists, 46 drugs have been approved in China, and metabolic diseases, tumours, and immune system diseases are relatively concentrated treatment areas.
News (2)
Over 60% of the "listed" drugs have been approved in China
Since November 2018, the State Food and Drug Administration and the National Health Commission have successively released three batches of lists of overseas new drugs urgently needed for clinical use, covering 40, 26, and 7 drugs, totaling 73 types.
According to the DXY Insight database and public information, reporters from the Beijing News sorted out 73 drugs in the list. As of April 19, 46 drugs on the list have been approved in China, accounting for 63.01% of the approved drugs, and some drugs have not yet submitted their marketing applications in China.
As early as when the first batch of the list was released, the Center for Drug Evaluation of the State Food and Drug Administration stated that the varieties included in the list of overseas new drugs urgently needed for clinical use can submit relevant materials in accordance with the "Working Procedures for the Review and Approval of Overseas New Drugs in Urgent Clinical Need" and submit a marketing application directly for the centre established a special channel to speed up the review. For varieties that have not yet been declared, applicants can communicate with the centre at any time and submit a listing application as soon as possible.
According to a CCTV report, in the review of some anti-tumuor drugs that are urgently needed in clinical practice, the Drug Evaluation Center will intervene in the drug development process in advance, communicate in advance, and work with R&D scientists and applicants to jointly agree on a global synchronized R&D strategy so that the products can be quickly integrated with foreign countries and listed in China at the same time.
When the third batch of lists was released in November 2020, the Center for Drug Evaluation of the State Food and Drug Administration also stated that for varieties that meet the requirements of the "Announcement on Matters Related to the Review and Approval of Overseas New Drugs Urgently Needed in Clinical Use", the State Food and Drug Administration, in conjunction with the National Health Commission has organized a full selection, which basically solved the historical problem of the slow listing of new drugs that are urgently needed overseas in my country. With the deepening of the review and approval system reform, the International Council for Harmonization of Human Drug Registration Technology (ICH) guiding principles CCP China has gradually established a regulatory system for the simultaneous R&D and declaration of overseas new drugs in China, and encourages the simultaneous R&D and declaration of overseas new drugs in China.
News (3)
Drugs approved are relatively concentrated in the fields of metabolism, oncology and immune diseases
The drug treatment fields involved in the three batches of overseas new drug lists are relatively concentrated. Among them, the indications of 14 drugs involve metabolic diseases, such as Fabry disease, IVA type mucopolysaccharidosis and other rare diseases; the indications of 10 drugs cover the immune system and tumors. In the classification of all therapeutic areas, the number of drugs involved in these three therapeutic areas accounted for 39.53%.
Drug indications involve more therapeutic areas, including endocrine system, skin diseases, nervous system, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, blood system diseases and infectious diseases.
News (4)
Five approved drugs for psoriatic arthritis and hepatitis C
There are also 5 drugs for the indication of psoriatic arthritis (银屑病关节炎), namely brodalumab from Kyowa Kirin, secukinumab from Novartis, ixekizumab from Eli Lilly and Celgene Pharma. Apremilast of Celgene Pharma and Janssen Biotech's guselkumab.
Hepatitis C is also a common indication for the drugs on the list. Among the 5 drugs involved in infectious diseases, 3 are indicated for hepatitis C, of which 2 are from Gilead and 1 is a drug owned by AbbVie.
News (5)
Highest proportion of drugs approved for treatments of rare diseases
In addition to the classification of disease treatment areas, rare diseases have become the highest proportion of drugs. Among the 73 drugs listed in the three batches, 37 are rare disease drugs, accounting for 50.68%. Among the 46 approved drugs, 21 are rare disease drugs, accounting for 45.65%.
News (6)
GlaxoSmithKline's recombinant shingles vaccine approved in China
One of the 73 drugs is a vaccine product, the recombinant shingles (zoster) vaccine under GlaxoSmithKline, which was approved in China in June 2020 and is suitable for adults aged 50 and over to prevent shingles. According to public information, there are about 1.56 million new cases of herpes zoster (shingles) every year among people aged 50 and over in my country. More than 99 percent of people age 50 and older have been infected with the varicella-zoster virus, and about one-third will develop shingles in their lifetime.
News (7)
Current treatment drugs for herpes zoster can be covered by medical insurance but the patient's own cost is high
Chang Xiao, director of the Department of Dermatology of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, said in an interview with the Beijing News Daily that in terms of clinical costs, shingles is a relatively expensive disease in dermatology, although medical insurance can cover the current treatment drugs for the disease, but the patient's own cost is also relatively high, and it will consume a certain amount of medical insurance resources. Not only that, these patients still "occupy" medical resources. "A mild herpes zoster patient, in addition to the current medical treatment, also needs two follow-up visits.
News (8)
Postherpetc neuralgia patients have to visit specialists frequently
If the patient has postherpetic neuralgia, the number of follow-up visits will actually be more. If the patient has postherpetic neuralgia, he has to take analgesic drugs for a long time.”
News (9)
Plans to temporarily import clobazam, the drug shortage dilemma is expected to ease
In addition to the three batches of overseas new drugs urgently needed for clinical use, clobazam has also attracted wide attention. In fact, as early as May 2017, clobazam was included in the "Second Batch of Recommended List of Children's Drugs Encouraged for R&D and Application" as "an unregistered and urgently needed clinical drug for children in mainland China".
Clobazam is a very effective broad-spectrum anti-seizure drug for the treatment of rare epileptic encephalopathy, which can effectively control epileptic seizures. The drug was first listed in the Philippines in 1967, and was subsequently launched in the United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries. However, the drug belongs to the second category of psychotropic drugs in CCP China and has not been approved.
News (10)
1 gram of clobazam equivalent to 0.1 mg of heroin creates usage controversy
Earlier, clobazam has been discussed many times on the Chinese Internet. The focus is that the "100 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Dependence Conversion Table" issued by the National Narcotics Control Commission states that "1 gram of clobazam is equivalent to 0.1 mg of heroin", and many voices believe that clobazam is heroin. There should be alternatives.
However, Wang Xuefeng, executive director of the China Antiepileptic Association and chairman of the Drug Treatment Committee, once said that clobazam and heroin are far different in composition, "Heroin is exciting, and clobazam can inhibit abnormal mental activities. If the person's mental state is already normal, taking clobazam will have little effect."
News (11)
Life-saving medicine hard to get, lifting of import restriction will meet urgent needs of clinical medication
Although the doctor will write clobazam in the prescription, the parents of children in China have no formal channels to buy it, and some parents have to seek the "life-saving medicine" for their children through overseas shopping or purchasing.
On 29 March 2022, the official website of the National Health Commission issued an announcement to solicit public opinions on the "Work Plan for Temporary Import of Drugs Urgently Needed in Clinical" and "Work Plan for Temporary Import of Clobazam" to meet the urgent needs of clinical medication.
The draft for comments shows that the National Health Commission will organize to propose the clinical demand for clobazam, determine the list of medical institutions that use it, select the medical institutions that will lead the import, organize the formulation of drug use specifications and prescription qualification requirements, and clarify the informed consent of patients and the exemption of doctors.
Requirements: The medical institution leading the import must file a temporary import application with the State Food and Drug Administration and submit relevant materials. At the same time, the medical institution leading the import may entrust the import unit to apply for the import permit. The importing unit will submit an application for an import license in accordance with the guidelines for the approval of the import of narcotic drugs and psychotropic drugs for clinical use published by the online office of the State Food and Drug Administration. The importing unit will go through the customs clearance formalities directly with the customs with the import permit. Such imported drugs do not need to undergo port inspection.
Video
People dying from brain cancer because of testing swabs? Not so
The swaps contain ethylene oxide which causes cancer, according to the video.
Ethylene oxide is highly toxic chemical. According to Reuters fact-check, ethylene oxide residue is removed from the swab product and any ethylene oxide left over is negligible.
Ethylene oxide gas is used to sterilize medical equipment and has been used for decades.
News (12)
For the first time in Chaoyang, "demarcation is a prison", Hu Xijin said that Beijing cannot lock down
Reporter : Li Lan / Special correspondent : Luo Ya / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/25/a103409989.html / Image : Video Screenshot
Beijing adopted regional lockdown measures on 25 April 2022. Chaoyang District delineated an area requiring residents to "stay out of the area". At the same time, nearly 3.5 million people in the district were forced to undergo nucleic acid testing. The people expressed panic, and even Hu Xijin has repeatedly issued articles calling on Beijing not to lock down.
The CCP’s trilogy of lockdown policies, staying at home, nucleic acid screening, and global static management (city closure), seems to be landing in Beijing.
On 25 April, the Beijing authorities increased control measures unprecedentedly. Chaoyang District, the largest district in Beijing, has designated an area, requiring residents in this area to "stay within the area", employees working from home, and welfare institutions such as nursing homes. Closed management, restaurants, gyms, cinemas, museums, etc. are closed.
There are also long queues on the streets of Beijing waiting for nucleic acid screening. About 3.45 million residents in Chaoyang District were required to undergo nucleic acid screening three times this week.
Mr. Du, a resident of Chaoyang District, Beijing said on 25 April 2022, "It's more panic, now they are rushing to buy supplies and preparing, doing nucleic acid once a day."
From 20 to 25 April, the Beijing Municipal Health Commission adjusted the risk level four times. The announcement on the 22nd stated that "all areas of the city are low-risk areas"; on the 25th, the announcement stated that the city has 1 high-risk area and 6 medium-risk areas, of which 6 are in Chaoyang District and 1 is in Fangshan District.
Ms. Wu, a resident of Fengtai District, said, "Not one place in Chaoyang District is closed, but another in Fengtai District. I just heard from our neighbors that Changxin store has also closed a place and a village. Everyone thinks it's special. I'm nervous, before, you only sealed one building, but now it's sealed."
Witnessing the various tragedies caused by the closure of the city in Shanghai, some Beijingers have already started to stock up.
Ms. Wu, a resident of Fengtai District, Beijing (2022.4.25): "After Shanghai, we basically bought all the food. When I asked, at least one family bought 50 catties of food."
Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the CCP media Global Times, posted on Weibo for several days, repeatedly expressing that Beijing cannot lock down the city.
He first posted that he was sure that "the costs in Shanghai and other places will not be paid in vain, and the same unfortunate events will not be repeated in batches."
Later, he wrote, "It is not known when Shanghai will be able to control the epidemic. If Beijing falls on a large scale, the impact will be unimaginable. Beijing must not go to the step of 'global static management'. Shanghai has been closed, if Beijing is also moving towards 'global static management', and it has been closed and suspended for a long time, so even if it is finally cleared after paying a huge price, its significance has been greatly reduced."
Mr. Du, a resident of Chaoyang District, commented on 25 April, "It doesn't mean that it is influenced by Shanghai, but who is influenced by Shanghai. It is a national unified policy of the central government and the will of the highest level."
Ms. Wu, a resident of Fengtai District, analyzed, "We are a one-party dictatorship country. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, what it says must be implemented. Anyway, there are many things this year, and there will be a 20th National Congress in October, so I estimate that this lockdown will become more and more strict."
News (13)
70 cases were confirmed in a primary school in Haidian after closures in many places in Beijing (video)
Reporter : Jing Zhongming / Editor : Xu Gengwen / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/25/a103409904.html / Image : On 25 April 2022, Tiantongyuan Community in Changping District, Beijing was closed. (Web picture)
Nucleic acid testing for all employees has been launched in many places in Beijing. At present, many communities in Beijing have been blocked. 70 people in the experimental primary school affiliated to the National People's Congress were diagnosed on the Internet, and the fifth grade was quarantined on the spot.
On April 25, an online video (link) showed that Baishun Hutong, Shaanxi Lane, and Shitou Hutong in Haidian near Tiananmen Square and Zhongnanhai were blocked. The photographer of the video said that the hutongs were full of "Dabai" (epidemic prevention personnel), and residents could not go anywhere.
Previously, it was officially announced that from 24 April, the temporary closure and control of Rouge Hutong, Dongbiying Hutong and Xibiying Hutong will be implemented; Baishun Hutong will be controlled; Street, east to Shitou Hutong, south to Zhushikou West Street to implement preventive measures.
Another online picture shows that Tiantongyuan Community in Changping District, Beijing was closed on the 25th, and the entrance of the community was blocked by epidemic prevention personnel and police cars. The official announced on the 24th that the Tiantongyuan North Second District was temporarily closed on the 25th, and the buildings in the community were divided into three levels, and different levels of blockade were implemented.
As early as 23 April, a video (link) came out online showing that multiple communities in Chaoyang District were blocked overnight.
In addition, online news came out on 25 April that the experimental primary school attached to the Renmin University of China in Haidian Zhongguancun Hi-Tech Park had confirmed 70 cases. The school notified students and parents to isolate at home, and some fifth-grade students were isolated in the classroom.
According to online reports, a teacher of the primary school who worked part-time in several schools tested positive, so many schools in Zhongguancun are at risk.
The CCP government is known for concealing the epidemic, and the official number of infections is often far less than the actual number of people infected.
A few days ago, Beijing officials suddenly reported multiple confirmed cases, and claimed that the virus may have been "covertly spreading for a week". On 24 April, Chaoyang District announced the launch of nucleic acid testing across the region. On the 25th, 10 other administrative districts and economic development zones in Beijing also announced the launch of nucleic acid testing for all employees, including Haidian District. Many citizens are worried that the epidemic may be out of control, so they start to rush shopping to prevent the sudden closure of the city.
News (14)
Yunnan Ruili lockdown has been 160 days, nearly 200,000 people left their hometowns
Source : Central News Agency
There are still three more days to the full month of Shanghai lockdown, and it has attracted much attention because of its international reputation. However, small and medium-sized cities on the Chinese border, such as Ruili, Yunnan, have been shut down for several days, of which Ruili has accumulated 160 days but it is not as famous as Shanghai.
According to a report by China's audio-visual network media, in order to prevent and control the imported epidemic, many small cities in China adjacent to the national border have been locked down for a long time, often for several months.
As of late April 2022, Suifenhe in Heilongjiang has been closed for nearly 90 days; Dongxing in Guangxi has been closed for 60 days; Ruili in Yunnan has been intermittently closed for 160 days. Based on the comparison of the number of people who have been screened for nucleic acid nationwide, since the outbreak of the epidemic, about 200,000 and 100,000 people have left Ruili and Dongxing respectively.
Because these cities are located in the borderlands, coupled with limited territory, small population, and lack of resources, the plight caused by the lockdown of the cities has received little attention.
For example, Ruili, which borders Myanmar on three sides, has a border line of 169.8 km. It was originally a good place with prosperous import and export trade and a pleasant pace of life. The 40-year-old Li Shang recalled that he felt that this place was full of opportunities, so he settled here in 2014 to run a youth hostel, and agreed that this was his second hometown.
After the city was closed on 31 March 2021, Li Shang was unable to go home and could only be trapped in the store, relying on the supplies he had hoarded before and contacting takeaways to deliver food. During the period, he only received one herbal tea among the official distribution of anti-epidemic supplies.
The epidemic prevention measures led to soaring prices, which made Li Shang frown. For example, a pound of small peppers (made in China, 500 g) of RMB 8 has risen to nearly 40 RMB. What worries him more is the business. There are no tourists staying. For 4 months, he was the only one in the hotel, and the only thing he could do was to do nucleic acid testing.
Now, Ruili has been locked down and on for 160 days for more than a year. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the citizens of Ruili have experienced 9 city closures and conducted at least 130 nucleic acid tests before and after.
According to the official information released by Ruili, the latest national nucleic acid test is on 18 April 2022, and about 190,000 people are tested. A year earlier, 380,000 people were tested. In other words, at least nearly 200,000 people in Ruili have left their hometowns this year.
At the end of July 2021, which is the gap between Ruili's 4th and 5th city closures, Li Shang queued up for 5 hours to apply for a certificate of departure from Ruili. He ran back to his residence from the city hall, grabbed his mobile phone, wallet, ID card and several pieces of personal clothing, and drove away without turning his head.
Li Shang lived in this border town for 8 years but it took only 20 minutes to leave. He said, "You must leave within 24 hours to get this certificate, otherwise it will be invalid. I have a deep attachment to Ruili in my heart but at that time I just wanted to escape."
The 6-minute short film "Voice of April" documenting the lockdown of Shanghai was deleted in seconds by the network administrator but it has become more and more widely circulated. However, when the predicament of the city closure of China's economic and financial city has attracted much attention, Ruili, which is located on the border, is like a foreign town that is not in China's territory, and no one pays attention.
German internet celebrity Christoph Rehage, who has been focusing on China affairs for a long time, said on his YouTube channel "Lao Lei" that if what happened in Shanghai landed somewhere like Ningxia today, would it attract attention? He shook his head and said, "Everyone knows this, that's all".
News (15)
"Hard isolation" is like shutting down animals, Shanghai people are angry and tear down the wall
Reporter : Qiao An / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/25/a103409924.html / Image : Video Screenshots
After the plan to fulfill the dynamic clearing deadline of 20 April 2022 failed, the Shanghai authorities upgraded control measures and implemented "hard quarantine" in some areas.
On 23 April, Pudong New Area issued the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in Hard Isolation in Sealed and Controlled Areas", and began to implement hard isolation in all sealed and controlled areas and buildings, and arranged for security guards to be on duty 24 hours a day.
The next morning, many citizens woke up and found themselves in "cages", with some areas surrounded by green barbed wire fences while others were completely closed by blue iron doors.
The authorities' intensified lockdown has made many citizens who are about to "be driven crazy" out of anger. There have been "fence removal campaigns" in many places. Men, women and children have been dispatched together to tear down the fences used for "hard isolation".
Shanghai resident threatened, "If you dare to block it, I can come down and overthrow it, and I will go to jail!"
Many citizens said that the hard quarantine has no legal basis and is illegal. "This way of blocking the law will block people and tell you not to buy anything to eat. When people starve to death, the virus is gone." The dry wood is on fire, and the whole of Shanghai is very angry."
There are still many people who worry that this kind of "hard isolation" means that once a fire breaks out, people in the building will not be able to escape. Some netizens said, "At first you thought it was just limiting your freedom but in the end you knew it wanted your life!"
News (16) to (17) / Reporter : Li Yan / Editor : Lin Yan / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/4/25/n13720365.htm
News (16)
The Great Translation Movement rips open the Great Firewall of the CCP
Image: In July 2008, Amnesty International held an event in Sydney. Call for the overthrow of the Great Firewall of the CCP. (Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images)
Russia entered Ukraine in February, embarrassing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Because in the weeks before that, the two sides had just reaffirmed that the Sino-Russian friendship was "unlimited". At a time when Western countries have condemned Russia's support for Ukraine, Beijing has neither condemned the Russian military "invasion" nor publicly supported Moscow on the global stage.
However on China's heavily censored social media platforms, support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine appears to be running high. Numerous posts and comments cheered Russia's aggression against Ukraine and condemned Western sanctions against Russia. People familiar with the matter say the CCP is waging an asymmetric information war inside and outside the Great Firewall (GFW) of China.
However, the "Great Translation Movement" that has emerged in the past two months is tearing open the CCP's GFW, giving people outside the wall a chance to see how the CCP uses its propaganda to "beautify itself," NBC News reported. At the same time, use internal propaganda to "brainwash the masses".
Since its Twitter account was created in early March, the Great Translation Movement has gained more than 135,000 followers and now receives hundreds of translations submitted directly via Twitter feeds every day.
In a tweet in response to NBC News, account administrators for the Great Translation Movement said they were from all over the world but most of them had lived in China and were fluent in Chinese. The anonymous administrators said they did not even know each other's identities or exact locations, citing fears that they or their family members in mainland China could be fined, detained or jailed.
“Our goal is to raise awareness (of the international community) about the state of public opinion in China,” they wrote. “Whether this is purely the result of spontaneous interactions by the Chinese people or the result of government censorship, manipulation and propaganda, we hope that the outside world knows what's going on inside."
The CCP media labelled the movement "smearing". "The message from the so-called Great Translation Movement is one-sided," Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said in a statement.
The Great Translation Campaign administrators say they choose to translate as much representative information as possible. This information is either "liked" by many people, or from the party media or from heavyweights with millions of fans, mainly from Chinese social media such as Weibo, WeChat, Zhihu, Douban and Douyin.
To ensure the authenticity of the submissions, administrators said they asked for a link to the original post and archived it in case the content was removed from the Internet by the CCP.
Most of the content is translated into English but there are also Japanese, German, Korean, French, Spanish and Arabic posts. The account also publishes posts related to the lockdown in Shanghai and other parts of China due to the covid epidemic.
News (17)
Former CCP diplomat: CCP cannot deceive Chinese people
Jason Wu, an assistant professor of political science at Indiana University who specializes in Chinese ideology and public opinion, said the party-media backlash likely stemmed from the CCP government's fear of losing its control over messaging. The CCP has long shown different content to audiences at home and abroad, and the Great Translation Movement is building new public relations by breaking down that line, he said.
On the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the CCP appears to be "very neutral" in the international community, refusing to condemn the Russian invasion while expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. However on China’s domestic social media platforms, Tingwu posts and hashtags are suppressed. At the same time, the CCP media amplifies disinformation and conspiracy theories that favour Russia.
A volunteer translator said in an interview that while the CCP uses external propaganda to "beautify itself", it also uses internal propaganda to "brainwash the masses."
“In this war in Ukraine, the Chinese Communist Party has been supporting Russia, both explicitly and implicitly,” said the Chinese citizen, who asked not to be named for fear of being caught. “Public propaganda has led to the conclusion that Russia is the Just, there is no choice but (invasion). Because of this propaganda, many Chinese are ignorant of the situation and support Russia.”
That also includes many Chinese living overseas, said Yang Han, a former Chinese diplomat. He said that many people in the Australian Chinese community blindly rely on the CCP media for information and hardly read English-language news. Yang Han has settled in Australia since his first visit to Australia in 1998.
The CCP has spent billions of dollars on publicity campaigns targeting English and other language-speaking audiences abroad. At the same time, the use of the GFW has kept mainland Internet users out of contact with many foreign social media giants including Facebook, Google, Twitter and YouTube.
"This is a very asymmetric information war going on on the Chinese (CCP) side," Yang Han said. "As you can see on Twitter, all these Chinese state media (CCP coal) have hundreds of official accounts broadcasting their propaganda to the West but we can’t get our message across to the 1.4 billion Chinese living inside China.”
Therefore, after seeing a lot of "pro-Russian and pro-China propaganda" in an overseas Chinese WeChat group in Australia, Yang Han began to publish his own translated Chinese posts and comments on Twitter, many of which were later retweeted by the "Great Translation Movement".
"You won't see official English (pro-Russian) propaganda." He said that on the issue of the Russia-Ukraine war, the CCP's foreign propaganda "talks about China's national interests, not about (Russia) aggression against (Ukraine). Right and wrong question".
"I think we should do more to put these (the Chinese Communist Party's brainwashing propaganda on the Chinese) in English so the world can better understand China's position."
"[This way] people who don't usually read Chinese can learn how the state media (the CCP media) actually creates public opinion at home, which makes it more difficult for the party to say 'we are really neutral'." "If they think they can deliver this kind of information to a domestic audience without being heard by the rest of the world, that's not realistic for them," he said.
DW reported, citing an administrator of the Great Translation Movement, that they wanted to expose the "brutal" and "bloodthirsty" nature of the CCP.
News (18) to (21) / Reporter : Li Shixun / Editor : Chen Wenqi / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/4/25/n13720339.htm
News (18)
Expert analyzes how Taiwan exerts influence over the Solomon Islands
Image : Li Baizhen, former deputy secretary-general of CCICED. (Chen Guanjun / The Epoch Times)
Just the day after the White House announced on 18 April that it would send high-level officials to visit the Solomon Islands, the CCP announced on 19 April a security agreement has been signed with the Solomon Islands, confirming long-standing speculation.
News (19)
Taiwan can continue the plan before breaking diplomatic relations, set up a company to hire local people to expand its influence
Solomon Islands is a former ally of Taiwan. Does Taiwan also have a place to exert influence? Li Baizhen, former deputy secretary general of CCICED, who has 35 years of experience in international assistance and expanded Taiwan's diplomatic front-line field experience, said that although Taiwan's diplomatic capabilities for the Solomon Islands are currently limited, there are still some opportunities. Taiwan sees whether it is willing to do it or not.
Li Baizhen explained that in the past, after Taiwan broke off diplomatic relations with its friendly countries, it usually withdraws completely but if there are no people there, it is impossible to maintain the previously established relations, which is very detrimental to Taiwan's diplomacy. On the other hand, the CCP, even if it does not have diplomatic relations, will set up some companies or send personnel to the local area. This has a lot of room for manipulating intelligence and exerting influence.
He pointed out that Taiwan often assists allies in international aid for free. This method has the disadvantage that it will be taken for granted after a long time, so he intends to do it in a different way. He said that in the past, the technical cooperation and international assistance programs undertaken by the International Cooperation and Development Foundation will stop injecting funds and technologies when they expire but some programs can still be done after the completion of some programs.
News (20)
3 methods in dealing with the CCP's infiltration of the Solomons
As early as January 2022, Cleo Paskal, a non-resident senior researcher at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy (FDD), an American think tank, mentioned that the CCP has a fixed procedure for infiltrating island countries. The new role (China enters new role as Pacific Islands policeman) wrote the CCP's method of infiltrating Solomon and ways to deal with it were suggested.
Step 1: Lay the foundation and send people to be stationed in the local area to exert influence
Although the Solomons and Taiwan were still diplomatic allies, the CCP will still send people to the local area, usually in the form of enterprises on the surface but in fact they are infiltrating influence, including gathering intelligence, influencing government decision-making, seeking opponents, etc.
The Solomons only had a civil war in the 1990s and signed the Townsville Peace Agreement in 2000, but many of the provisions have not been implemented, and there are still dissatisfaction among different ethnic groups in the society. These problems have become levers for the CCP to infiltrate.
The way to deal with the CCP at this stage is that the United States, India and other countries should send ambassadors to the local area. On the one hand, they can collect local first-hand information to make a good judgment. On the other hand, they can provide different information for local anti-communists. They can choose and try to bridge the rift between opposing groups.
In addition, after Taiwan broke off diplomatic relations with the Solomon Islands, it immediately withdrew its resources and did not leave any personnel to continue to maintain relations with the local area. Pascal believes that this is very short-sighted, because the Solomon Islands is a democratic country and the Sogavare regime has the opportunity to be alternated. For those who are pro-Taiwan, there is still the possibility that the pro-Taiwan power will come to power again.
Step 2: Enter in a big way to win over pro-CCP people and fight against dissidents
After the Solomons established diplomatic relations with the CCP, before other countries could react, the CCP took advantage of the situation. For example, Chinese state-owned enterprises immediately tried to lease Tulagi Island in the middle of the Solomon Islands to build a deep-water port. Fortunately, the islanders rebounded vigorously, and this move did not succeed.
The CCP’s war for influence has not stopped. For loyal politicians and businessmen, the CCP vigorously rewards them with sufficient funds, and those who oppose it are targeted.
The countermeasure at this time is to support local people who dare to oppose the CCP, and at the same time, allocate resources to organize activities to let local residents understand the importance of democracy, and clarify what the CCP has done. The report exposes the CCP’s corruption of the local situation.
Step 3: Use the crisis to wait for the opportunity to dispatch police force to "peacekeeping"
In November 2021, many Solomon Islanders were fed up with the CCP's bribes and resource plunder, and large-scale protests broke out. Under the strong suppression, the protests turned into riots. Solomon Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare took advantage of the situation to seek peacekeepers from Australia. Australia cooperated by sending police force to help but this also gave the CCP a reason to send force to help "peacekeeping" because Australia does the same.
At this time, it seems that the CCP will take full control of the Solomon Islands but Pascal pointed out that there is still an opportunity to counter the CCP because many local people are anti-communist, and the outside world should cooperate more with them, rather than with the current government that has been corrupted by the CCP.
Image : Data map of the port of Honiara on the island of Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. (CPL Brodie Cross/Australian Department of Defence via Getty Images)
News (21)
"Global Partnership Association" is being created
After retiring from CCICED last year, Li Baizhen is setting up the "Global Cooperation Association", which will establish a local company, introduce investment, and continue to expand the original plan. People, "In addition to bringing back the original farmers, I will expand it. For example, it was only 20 hectares (crops) before, and it did not reach the economic scale. Now I have expanded it to 1,000 hectares; from the original only one or two hundred Farmers are now 10,000 or 20,000 farmers, and the local market can cover everything from fresh agricultural products to agricultural product processing, and even export.”
Li Baizhen said that in this way, Taiwan has influence on the local government, and can use this influence to assist Taiwan's diplomacy, "Because this plan involves tens of thousands of job opportunities, after you leave, it (the local government) will suffer. The farmers will also complain to the government.” The Solomon Islands is also one of Li Baizhen's goals, which will be carried out soon.
This is a bit like the tactic used by the CCP, which is flexible and effective. Taiwan should also do the same, but it is difficult to be flexible within the government department, and currently it can only be done outside the government department. Li Baizhen said, "I'm helping the Ministry of Foreign Affairs! The old Communist Party dares to do this, why can’t we do it?”
News (22)
Chinese fighter jet crashes, foreign soldier among the escape pilots
Reporter : Li Jing / Editor : Sun Yun / https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/22/4/23/n13718683.htm, https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2022/04/25/a103409894.html / Image : The L15 Falcon is the first advanced trainer aircraft developed by the Chinese military in accordance with Western standards. It was developed by the Russian Yakovlev Design Bureau Company as a consultant, and the cost of each aircraft is about 100 million yuan. (Wikipedia)
On 23 April, news of the crash of a fighter jet of the Chinese military came out. According to the relevant video, two pilots escaped by parachuting, one was a Chinese pilot and the other was a foreign soldier.
According to Twitter, on 23 April, in Caolou Village, Zhangji Town, Yucheng County, Shangqiu, Henan Province, a fighter jet suddenly fell and crashed, and the pilot jumped to escape. The medical staff of Zhangji Health Center participated in emergency rescue, and there are no deaths.
According to a video posted by netizens, an open flame was still burning where the plane crashed, and the nearby wheat fields were burned to scorched soil. The fighter plane has been smashed into pieces and scattered in the wheat fields. Two pilots on board successfully parachuted, one of the pilots suspected of being a Russian pilot.
On the afternoon of April 23, Caolou Village, Zhangji Town, Yucheng County, Shangqiu, Henan Province
A fighter jet suddenly fell and crashed, and the pilot had jumped off the plane and fled.
At present, the medical staff of Zhangji Health Center are participating in emergency rescue, and there are no deaths. pic.twitter.com/SbRtcAkiZN
— Lu Nan (@lunanweiyi) April 23, 2022
Image of the foreign pilot : Twitter screenshot
The two parachuting pilots were lying in the farmland, and villagers next to them asked, "Are you the Chinese People's Liberation Army?" The Chinese pilot responded "yes" and prompted the photographer not to take pictures while the foreign pilot did not respond.
According to another source, the crashed fighter plane was an L15 Falcon trainer, and the crash site of the military plane was in Huoshan County, Anhui Province.
Some also say this crash happened in Shangqiu of Henan Province, not Anhui.
— Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferatntd) April 23, 2022
According to public information, the L15 Falcon (Trainer-10, JL-10) is a high-level trainer designed by Nanchang Hongdu Aviation under the China AVIC Second Group. The development was assisted by the Russian Yakovlev Design Bureau (Yakovlev) as a consultant. The cost of each L15 Falcon is about 100 million RMB, equivalent to 15 million US Dollars.
However, Yao Cheng, a former staff officer of the Chinese Navy Command who lives in the United States, said on Twitter, "I have been in the Chinese Air Force for more than 20 years, and I have never heard of foreign pilots using this kind of trainer belt for pilot training schools. Having flown Chinese pilots, only if China buys foreign aircraft will they be flown on new models.”
Yao Cheng said, "The CCP responded very quickly, and soon after the video came out, the news of the crash of an L15 trainer plane in Anhui was thrown out, saying that there was also a foreign pilot trying to divert attention and confuse right and wrong, but the wreckage of the plane could not be released. The video and photos of the fighters have been forwarded on the Internet. It has been confirmed that the plane fell in Shangqiu, Henan. Judging from the wreckage and the equipment of the pilot, there is no doubt that it is a supersonic fighter, which is eighteen thousand miles worse than the trainer. "
Yao Cheng further analyzed that the pilot was wearing an anti-G suit, confirming that he was flying a fighter jet rather than a trainer. The identity of the foreign pilot is presumed to be a Russian pilot.
He said, "If a Russian pilot flies again, he will not fly on a trainer plane. Russian pilots come to China to fly for two purposes. One is to sell them to Chinese planes, and they need to come to train Chinese pilots."
He said that at the sensitive moment of the Ukrainian-Russian war, the CCP deliberately spread false news to mislead the crash of the trainer plane, but in fact covered up the fact of military cooperation with Russia.
Yao Cheng said, "Because the Air 56 Brigade only has J-10B and J-20, and it happens that Putin needs these two planes, what does he do with other planes? With the help of you, in the end, you are the military cooperation between the Chinese Communist Party and Russia.”
Online video leaks CCP military secrets? Yao Cheng said that during the Ukrainian-Russian war, the United States and NATO are bound to investigate the evidence of military cooperation between the CCP and Russia. So far, the CCP military has not responded.
News (23) to (30) / Reporters : Joe Davies etal., Daily Mail / https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10753079/Deadly-outbreak-childrens-hepatitis-brought-lockdown-weakening-immunity.html
News (23)
Child hepatitis may have been brought on by lockdown
An outbreak of child hepatitis may have been brought on by Covid lockdown weakening immunity, health chiefs have said as they revealed that two more British children need liver transplants and dozens are sick.
UK health officials said the global outbreak in cases may be as a result of pandemic measures which prevented children in their 'formative' years being exposed to common infections.
In total, 114 cases of "acute hepatitis of unknown origin" have been reported in the UK in the last four weeks, with ten youngsters undergoing critical liver transplant procedures.
The first cases were spotted in Scotland less than a month ago, prompting a warning from UK health officials who say they have detected as many cases in three months as they would expect to see in a year.
The majority of cases have been spotted in under-5s who were initially hit with diarrhoea and nausea before later getting jaundice — the yellowing of the skin/eyes. Other symptoms can include dark urine, grey-coloured faeces, itchy skin, muscle pain, a fever, lethargy, loss of appetite and stomach pains.
Investigations are ongoing but officials believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus, a viral infection which is usually to blame for the sniffles, and has been linked to three quarters of all cases.
News (24)
Lockdown may have weakened children's immunity or the virus may have mutated to pose a greater threat
Experts say lockdowns - which prompted concerns for children's physical and mental health - may have weakened the immunity of children and left them more susceptible to the virus, or the offending pathogen may have mutated to pose a greater threat.
Dr Meera Chand, director of clinical and emerging infections at the UK Health Security Agency, told the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Lisbon that younger children were getting infected by the virus as they had not been exposed to it 'during the formative stages that they've gone through during the pandemic'.
Image of child hepatitis cases distribution map : Daily Mail
The liver disease has been spotted in 12 different countries, including the US, Ireland and Spain, while one child has died so far.
The WHO has received reports of at least 169 cases of 'acute hepatitis of unknown origin' from 12 countries. Thirteen cases have been detected in Spain, 12 in Israel, and 11 in the US.
Elsewhere, cases have also been detected in Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Romania.
Cases were detected in children aged one month to 16, the majority of whom have been hospitalised. The WHO has not disclosed which country the only known death occurred in.
Professor Deirdre Kelly, an expert in paediatric hepatology at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, told the Telegraph: 'I do think that what we've seen so far may be the tip of the iceberg, because unless they're yellow, it probably doesn't come to medical attention. The other early symptoms are tummy ache, vomiting and diarrhoea - which aren't very specific in children.'
News (25)
None of the "child hepatitis" patients in the UK and the U.S. were vaccinated
UK officials have ruled out the Covid vaccine as a possible cause, with none of the ill British children vaccinated because of their young age. None of the 11 cases in the US were jabbed either.
Almost 170 cases have been spotted since the first cases were publicly recorded in Scotland at the end of March.
Hepatologists today told MailOnline they believe the official numbers may be just the 'tip of the iceberg' because many parents may brush off the warning signs.
Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson, a hepatologist from Imperial College London, told MailOnline, "'I think there are more cases out there.
"'I'd imagine there are more cases than have been reported — but they are likely to be less severe."
News (26)
Chances of liver transplant or death are low, seek treatment for jaundice
However he added there is no reason to panic because in '99 per cent' of cases the liver is able to regenerate and the chances of needing a transplant or dying because of the condition are low.
Image of symptoms of hepatitis : Daily Mail
Professor Alastair Sutcliffe, a paediatrician from University College London, told MailOnline mounting cases are 'a concerning and depressing situation for families' but parents should not fear. Up to 20 per cent of hepatitis cases have no known cause.
He said, "What is for families to consider [is] if their child develops jaundice after the first few months of life they need medical attention fast.
"But that is true of any child who develops jaundice after the first few months of life so is not new advice. With one death and no known cause life should continue as before. Nothing is more fearful than fear itself."
None of the cases have been caused by any of the five typical strains of the virus — hepatitis A, B, C, D and E.
Data gathered has 'increasingly' suggested that the rise in severe cases of hepatitis may be linked to a group of viruses called adenoviruses, the UKHSA said.
News (27)
75% of the victims have adenovirus, 16% have covi
Adenovirus was found in 75 per cent of the sickened children who were tested for it. Sixteen per cent had SARS-CoV-2 (covi).
The UKHSA's Dr Chand said, "Information gathered through our investigations increasingly suggests that this rise in sudden onset hepatitis in children is linked to adenovirus infection.
"However, we are thoroughly investigating other potential causes.
News (28)
Child hepatitis preventive measures are the same as preventing covid
"Parents and guardians should be alert to the signs of hepatitis (including jaundice) and to contact a healthcare professional if they are concerned.
"Normal hygiene measures such as thorough handwashing (including supervising children) and good thorough respiratory hygiene, help to reduce the spread of many common infections, including adenovirus.
Investigations are ongoing but officials believe the illness may be triggered by an adenovirus, a viral infection which is usually to blame for the sniffles, and has been linked to three quarters of all cases.
News (29)
Possible new covi variant
UKHSA officials have included "a new variant of SARS-CoV-2" in their working hypotheses when discussing the variant at the European Congress of Clinical Microbology & Infectious Diseases in Lisbon on 26 April 2022.
News (30)
Theory of co-infection proposed
One theory among the experts suggests that children infected with covi and adenovirus at the same time could be at greater risk of hepatitis.
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